Daiwa launched data infrastructure sector with Snowflake top pick

Daiwa analyst Shigemichi Yoshizu yesterday morning initiated coverage of Snowflake (SNOW) with a Buy rating and $210 price target, MongoDB (MDB) with an Outperform rating and $202 price target, and Palantir (PLTR) with a Neutral rating and $90 price target. Snowflake is the firm’s top pick among artificial intelligence-related data infrastructure names. The data infrastructure sector “looks poised to see earnings growth” over the medium- and long-term, as generative AI inference software takes hold at an accelerated pace, the analyst told investors in a research note. For Snowflake, Daiwa believes structured data “will prevail” thanks to its efficiency amid the spread of AI agents. With MongoDB being a downstream company, it will take roughly 12 months for it to see tangible benefits from the accelerated uptake of generative AI applications by generic users, according to the firm. Palantir has “remarkably achieved success” in applying the technology to manufacturing, but there are concerns about the sustainability of the stock’s “excessively high valuations,” Daiwa said.